Some good news for summer jobseekers

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TRI-CITIES -- The unemployment rate here in the Tri-Cities continues to hover above both the state and national average. But getting a job this summer could be as easy as driving a tractor. We learned jobs in agriculture will have the most openings this summer.

As summer approaches, more people are in the job hunt.

"I'm currently looking for work at the mall. Any child care, baby sitting, anything like that to get me going," says Sabrina Lopez. She's finishing her GED with the help of Work Source in Kennewick.She hopes to go to college. But Sabrina needs a job now to pay her rent:

"Long term, I see myself helping children. I'm trying to go to college for education," she says.

There is some good news for people looking for work like Sabrina.While our local unemployment is still above the state average, experts expect a slight pick-up in the job market this summer. Ajsa Suljic works for the employment security department.

I asked her where the best place to look for a job this summer will be:

"Agriculture is the biggest employing industry by far during the summer for us locally. In that increase from five to 18 thousand by august," she says.

And it's not just picking fruit. Ajsa says agriculture jobs up range from driving a tractor, to working on marketing for wineries. In addition, she also says construction and manufacturing jobs will account for up to five-percent increase in jobs this summer over all. That's good news for those doing entry level, manual labor.

But it's not what Sabrina's looking for:

"Kinda puts me down in a way, but I'm not going to give up. There's still a lot of opportunities out there," she says.

She expects to find something -- as the job market keeps improving.

Work Source says the real wild card is always Hanford. Layoffs there can affect other hiring.

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